Dear Colleague,

I am excited to announce the launch of The Democracy Collaborative’s Climate and Energy program, which will be led by co-managers Johanna Bozuwa and Carla Santos Skandier. This program will build on our existing work in these areas and focus on the intersections between a just transition and the development of a democratic economy. Johanna and Carla recently authored  "a transatlantic proposal" for making public power a core feature of the Green New Deal, which was published by the UK-based think tank Common Wealth. Johanna was also interviewed by the Real News Network about the recent power outages in New York City and calls by elected officials and others for public ownership to increase accountability, quality, and sustainability. Read more about the opportunity for democratic public control of New York City’s power in the Gothamist.
 
In addition to the transatlantic Green New Deal, we are also seeing a transatlantic conversation unfolding about the role of healthcare systems as anchor institutions. In the US, the Healthcare Anchor Network recently hosted its first ever CEO Convening, bringing together leadership from some of the nation’s largest health systems in conversation about how to leverage their collective resources to improve community health and wellbeing. Read more about the anchor approach in Grantmakers in Health. Across the Atlantic, the Health Foundation has just released a report calling on the National Health Service (NHS) to maximize its roles as an anchor institution, making recommendations to embed this approach within one of the world’s largest employers. The Democracy Collaborative and the Center for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) partnered to support this report. Read more below.
 
Anchor Institutions are part of what Executive Vice President Marjorie Kelly and I deemed important assets in the effort to bring about a more democratic economy in our new book, The Making of a Democratic Economy. We write, "the seeds of a future beyond corporate capitalism and state socialism are being planted in hospital procurement departments, pension fund offices, and even company boardrooms." Over the last month, we have traveled across the country to share the book, and wherever we have gone, we have found incredible momentum around these ideas. At a launch event at The Strand Bookstore in New York City, Phil Thompson shared that the book provides a hopeful direction in a time of anxiety, and outlined his goals for economic democracy in New York City. Watch the remarks and a conversation with Marjorie and myself here. Read an excerpt from our book in Yes! Magazine and coverage in Fast Company, Shelterforce, and Uprise RI. Marjorie and I have also made a number of TV and radio appearances to discuss the work highlighted in the book. Listen more in: The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow; the Thom Hartmann Program; Rising Up with Sonali; Jefferson Public Radio; America’s Work Force Radio; and Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York.
 
Lastly, The Democracy Collaborative team is hiring! Review our open positions and internships here.

Sincerely,
Ted Howard
President and Co-Founder,
The Democracy Collaborative